Gretchen Wilson
Country girl power: If you go down to the trailer park today, don't be surprised to see a new generation of sassy gals, proudly standing barefoot in their finest Wal-Mart clothes, leaning against the tailgate of their four-wheel drives, guzzling beer and hollering the words to Redneck Woman, the new anthem of cowgirl power that is sweeping across the southern states faster than a prairie fire. The song, written and performed by 31-year-old Gretchen Wilson, features such succinct lyrics as: "Cause I'm a redneck woman/And I ain't no high class broad/I'm just a product of my raisin'/And I say 'hey y'all' and 'hee-haw'". It's an unashamed celebration of trailer trash values, a rallying cry for dixie chicks who like drinking in honky-tonks, listening to Charlie Daniels and keeping their Christmas lights on in the porch all year round.
Cowgirl dreams: Ever since she was born to a teenage mom in Granite, Illinois, Gretchen Wilson has been a country girl at heart. Brought up in the tiny trailer park town of Pocahontas, young Gretchen grew up real fast, working alongside her mom in a local roughneck bar by the age of 14, and running the place a year later with a 12-gauge shotgun stashed behind the bar in case of trouble. She whiled away her free time listening to the grand ol' gals of country music: Tanya Tucker, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline. Inheriting a strong voice from her absent father, Gretchen started singing along to CDs in the bar for the entertainment of the folks, her only desire to go to Nashville and make it as a country music star.
The godmother: After a few frustrating years in Nashville, during which Gretchen had her own daughter, worked in bars and played in local bands, her fortunes took an upturn when Big Kenny and John Rich, two well-known Nashville singer-songwriters, walked into the bar and clapped eyes on the striking gal with the gritty voice belting out covers with the house band. They introduced Gretchen to Nashville's famous Musik Mafia, a loose collective of singers, songwriters and musicians. Before long, she had become part of this coterie, writing songs and performing them at the MM's regular Tuesday night music club. Eventually, Gretchen got signed to Sony Music Nashville and recorded her début album, Here For The Party.
Goin' south: Gretchen's down-home, shit-kickin' country style sets her apart from the crossover country-pop of Shania Twain and Faith Hill. However, the success of Redneck Woman threatens to take her beyond the trailer park and into the suburban mainstream. Released earlier this year, the song went to the top of the Billboard Country Charts, the fastest-rising country music début since Billy Ray Cyrus's Achy Breaky Heart. Yee-Haw!
